Mona, jung und hübsch, wächst in einem lieblosen Elternhaus auf. Unerfahren stürzt sie sich in ihre erste Liebesbeziehung und wird gleich schwanger.Die Eltern lassen die uneheliche Mutter zwar nicht im Stich, doch die volle Aufmerksamkeit der Großeltern bekommt nur der Sohn Martin. Die Großmutter hatte sich immer einen Jungen gewünscht. Sie nutzt ohne Skrupel Monas Abhängigkeit für sich aus. Um Martin von Konflikten fernzuhalten, erduldet...

On the day Adolf Hitler comes to power, the German-Jewish Glickstein family comes together for a family dinner. Most of them however (like so many other Germans at that time) don't take the Nazis seriously. When young Leah reveals her plans to emigrate from Berlin to Palestine, her family objects. Her father can't see any reason to leave Germany, the country of their ancestors and the country he risked his live for during the first world war. But...

In the summer of 1979, two East German families attempt the impossible. In a makeshift hot-air balloon, they risk their lives and fly towards West Germany with hopes of freedom and a better life. Unfortunately, the balloon crash-lands just before they reach the West German border and the Stasi soon discover evidence of the attempted escape. In a nerve-wracking race against the clock, the two families must now rush to build a new escape balloon before...